Jackson is charged with soliciting bribes and other corruption counts. Her defense team is attempting to determine if comments related to her case and posted on Nola.com originated from within the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Two online identities -- "aircheck" and "jammer1954" -- have come under scrutiny since the so-called "blogging scandal" broke and weakened the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Orleans.

Two members of that office resigned in 2012 after admitting they posted online remarks under pseudonyms. The Jackson effort targets aliases that have not been directly connected to anyone to date.

Wilkinson has acknowledged the First Amendment protections generally granted to the media, and which limit the government's ability to compel such outlets to surrender information. However, Wilkinson said he weighed that protection against the Constitutional rights of the defendant, ultimately deciding that Nola.com should turn over the material -- but only for his initial review.

Wilkinson said he would base any further decisions on what is submitted to him by the website and on information he has received through review of an internal Department of Justice report on activity within the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The man at the helm of the office -- Jim Letten -- stepped down in late 2012. A successor, Kenneth Polite, was approved by the U.S. Senate last year.

An Iranian military observation aircraft flew within 50 yards of an armed U.S. Navy helicopter over the Persian Gulf this month, sparking concern that top Iranian commanders might not be in full control of local forces, CNN has learned.